Rescuers give up hope of finding more New Zealand earthquake survivors as official death toll hits 161

* Death toll could be as high as 240
* Only 13 victims have been publicly identified so far
* Christchurch will take 'more than 10 years to rebuild', officials warn

Rescuers today officially gave up hope of finding more survivors of New Zealand's devastating earthquake as the death hit 161, saying that no one trapped in rubble when the disaster struck nine days earlier could still be alive.

The news was a blow to the families of around 200 people listed as missing, many of whom clung to faltering hope for good news despite more than a week of silence from beneath the piles of debris that still litter the city of Christchurch.

So far only 13 have been publicly identified because the extent of injuries suffered by many victims has made the process slow and painstaking, requiring DNA testing or dental records, officials say.

Rescue workers clear out remains from the CTV building in Christchurch on Tuesday this week. Today, those searching for survivors officially gave up hope of finding more people alive

Search and recovery personnel from Britain sit on a basket crane and watch as a demolition arm moves rubble away from the Pyne Gould Corporation building last week. The official death toll has now hit 161

Exhausted rescue workers from the U.S. take a break during a search of an earthquake-damaged building in central Christchurch yesterday

That has left relatives with a small window of possibility that their loved one somehow escaped the quake but has been unable to contact their families or authorities.

'We now face the reality that there is no chance that anyone could have survived this long,' Civil Defense Emergency Management national controller John Hamilton told a news conference Thursday.

'Sadly, there becomes a point where the response effort shifts in focus from rescue to body recovery,' he said. 'We have now reached that point.'

Rescuers have pulled 161 bodies from the rubble, and since the vast majority are yet to be identified and dozens more dead are thought to still be trapped, hundreds of families have been left in anguish. Officials warn the toll could be as high as 240.

Linda Amantillo, the mother of a Filipino nurse who got trapped in the rubble of the Canterbury Television building, pleaded with officials not to stop the search.

'It pained me when I heard that they've stopped searching,' Amantillo said, her voice cracking. 'I've never left the altar praying for a miracle.'

Her 23-year-old Louise managed to briefly call and send text messages to her parents in the central Philippines shortly after the quake, saying she got buried and asking them to direct rescuers to her. She stopped sending messages after more than two hours.

Maurice Gardiner, whose sister was thought to be inside an office block that collapsed, said he accepted the official decision but that he had not given up all hope.

'Obviously I would like my sister back with us - at this stage it's not to be,' he said. 'They've said that miracles can happen, so I'm going along with what they say.'

More than 900 workers trained in disaster rescue and recovery rushed to Christchurch from several countries after the February 22 quake, and have been gingerly picking through the wreckage.

Jim Stuart-Black, the fire service chief who heads the work force, said his teams would start using more heavy machinery to clear the debris, though they would continue to work carefully 'to allow for that miracle'.

Among the missing and presumed dead are dozens of foreigners, most of them students and staff of an English language school that was in an office within the CTV building, which collapsed completely in the disaster.

Ethel Uy, whose niece Rhea Mae Sumalpong is among 11 Filipinos missing in the quake, said if she had been killed then the family wants her body returned to them so they can hold a funeral.

'We've prayed for a miracle from God, it's all up to God,' said Uy by phone from the central Philippine province of Cebu, speaking of Thursday's decision in New Zealand. 'If that's Rhea's fate, our wish is for all of her remains to be brought back to us. We want to give her a proper burial.'

t will take at least 10 years to rebuild Christchurch, officials said today, warning it would be months before they could even begin to reopen the quake-hit New Zealand city.

New Zealand's acting Economic Development Minister David Carter said it would take 'more than 10 years' to rebuild Christchurch, the main gateway to the country's South Island.

He said work would get under way quickly but 'it's a big project'.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker said the central business district (CBD) would remain closed for months, and across the city 22,000 households remain without electricity.

'You can see with the level of damage that we have in the CBD that it is going to be some months before it is going to be reopened,' he told a media briefing.

'However, in terms of putting a timeline on what that is, we just don't have information at this stage.'

Prime Minister John Key announced a national memorial service would be held in Christchurch, with the date to be set later.

'Today is a day when we as a nation, along with our many friends around the world, mark with a heavy heart and great sadness this moment of unbearable loss for the many families involved,' he said.

Rescuers saved 70 people in the first 26 hours after the quake struck just before 1pm on February 22, but no one has been found alive since.

Two Israeli backpackers were the first foreigners named among the dead, as the painstaking work of confirming the identities of scores of others gained pace.

Hoyle said 90 of the bodies found so far were pulled from the CTV building, which housed a regional broadcaster and other offices including the language school, which taught students from Japan, China, the Philippines and other nations.

He said police and those responsible for identifying bodies had met victims families to explain why the process was proceeding so slowly.

Officials said work finally started Thursday at the collapsed bell tower of the Christchurch cathedral, which had to be braced before crews could enter. Up to 22 bodies may be buried there.

Other parts of the city were slowly returning to normal, though many of the 350,000 residents still have cut or limited water and power supplies and are using thousands of portable toilets because of damage to the sewage system.

A senior British detective helping to identify victims of the New Zealand earthquake has warned that the process of naming the dead must not be rushed.

Metropolitan Police Commander Nick Bracken insisted accuracy could not be compromised for speed as the authorities in Christchurch ruled out finding any more survivors.

Four Britons are thought to have died in the devastating 6.3-magnitude quake that struck the city at lunchtime on February 22.

Another two who were injured are expected to be released from hospital in the next week, according to a spokesman for the British High Commission in New Zealand.

New Zealand prime minister John Key has criticised 'farcical' delays in naming those killed in the disaster.

But Mr Bracken, leader of a 10-strong British disaster victim identification team, said there could be no repeat of previous errors which led to the wrong bodies being flown back to the UK.

He told New Zealand's Waikato Times newspaper: 'One mistaken identity can cast doubt in the minds of everyone.

'We saw it after the 2004 Thailand tsunami and in 1997 following the Luxor massacre in Egypt, where 12 bodies were repatriated to the UK when they were in fact Swiss nationals - we cannot let that happen.'

Referring to a popular TV programme about police forensic work, he added: 'People watch CSI and think the process can be done instantly but that is not reality - you simply can't compromise accuracy for speed.'

Around 200 people are still listed as missing after the earthquake, although officials say many are among the 161 bodies that have been pulled from the rubble.

The only British victim confirmed so far is chef Gregory Tobin, 25, from Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, who was on a round-the-world trip when he was killed.

Chartered accountant Phil Coppeard, 41, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, who emigrated to New Zealand in November with his wife Suzanne Craig, is among the missing.

 A damaged statue protrudes from debris in Cathedral Square. New Zealand's acting Economic Development Minister David Carter said it would take 'more than 10 years' to rebuild the city

 Cars lie under rubble in the central business district in Christchurch yesterday

 Christchurch mayor Bob Parker said the central business district would remain closed for months

Weapons of cyber mass destruction: U.S. and Israel behind Stuxnet worm attack on Iran, expert claims

Expert: Ralph Langner claims the U.S. and Israel launched the Stuxnet worm

Nuclear concerns: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The U.S. and Israel were behind the catastrophic Stuxnet worm that was unleashed on computers controlling Iran's nuclear program, an expert claimed today.

German computer security expert Ralph Langner said the ringleaders of the cyber 'weapon of mass destruction' were from the U.S. supported by Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel.

The Stuxnet worm caused chaos when it targeted large industrial systems in Iran last Summer.

Iranian officials in the capital, Tehran, went on to blame the Jewish state of Israel and the U.S. for the killing of two nuclear scientists in November and January.







'My opinion is that the Mossad is involved,' Langner said while discussing his in-depth Stuxnet analysis at a prestigious TED conference in the Southern California city of Long Beach.

'But, the leading source is not Israel... There is only one leading source, and that is the United States.

'The idea behind Stuxnet computer worm is really quite simple. We don't want Iran to get the bomb.'

The malicious code was crafted to stealthily take control of valves and rotors at an Iranian nuclear plant, according to Langner.

The international community has repeatedly voiced its concerns that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has developed nuclear weapons.

Stuxnet targets computer control systems made by German industrial giant Siemens and commonly used to manage water supplies, oil rigs, power plants and other critical infrastructure.

Most Stuxnet infections have been discovered in Iran, giving rise to speculation it was intended to sabotage nuclear facilities there. The worm was crafted to recognize the system it was to attack.

'It was engineered by people who obviously had inside information. They probably also knew the shoe size of the operator.

'The idea here is to circumvent digital data systems, so the human operator could not get there fast enough.

'When digital safety systems are compromised, really bad things can happen -- your plant can blow up.'

It was reported in January that U.S and Israeli intelligence services collaborated to develop the computer worm to sabotage Iran's efforts to make a nuclear bomb.

Russia called on NATO in January to launch an investigation into the computer worm that targeted a Russian-built Iranian nuclear power plant, saying the incident could have triggered a new Chernobyl.

Russia's envoy to NATO said in Januray that Stuxnet caused centrifuges producing enriched uranium at the Bushehr plant to spin out of control, which could have sparked a new 'Chernobyl tragedy,' the 1986 nuclear meltdown in Ukraine.

The former soviet country is helping Iran build a nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr for civilian use.

'It's definitely hard-core sabotage,' Langner said of Stuxnet. 'It's like in the movies where during a heist the security camera is running pre-recorded video showing nothing is wrong.'

Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency has denied that the Stuxnet attack effected the country's nuclear program, including Bushehr.

A terrifying aspect of Stuxnet, according to Langner, is that it is a generic attack that would work well in factories, power plants, or other operations plentiful in the U.S.

'It's a cyber weapon of mass destruction,' Langner said. 'We'd better start preparing right now.'

Libyan rebels, Gaddafi forces battle for oil sites

Libyan rebels prepared for further attacks today by forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi as both sides struggled for control of a strategic coast road and oil industry facilities.

Rebels holding the port city of Zawiyah, 50km west of the capital, Tripoli, said they had been launching counter-attacks against Gaddafi’s forces massing in the area and warned supplies of medicines and baby milk were running low.

“Women and children are at home while the men are armed and roam the streets and city limits in anticipation of a major attack by pro-Gaddafi forces tonight,” resident Ibrahim told Reuters by telephone.

In eastern Libya, witnesses said a warplane bombed Brega, an oil terminal town 800km east of Tripoli, for the second day yesterday. Warplanes also launched two raids against the nearby rebel-held town of Ajbadiya, witnesses said.

The popular uprising against Gaddafi’s 41-year rule, the bloodiest yet against a long-serving ruler in the Middle East or North Africa, has knocked out nearly half of the Opec member-nation’s output of 1.6 million barrels of oil per day, the bedrock of its economy.

Gaddafi’s government took foreign journalists on a tour of western Libya as part of efforts to show he remained in control.



Towns and villages erupted in jubilation as the convoy passed through. Crowds of supporters shouted “God, Muammar, Libya, together” and children kissed portraits of Gaddafi.

Yet signs of resistance were apparent. In several towns, buildings had been torched and many house fronts were covered with anti-government slogans, a Reuters reporter said.

The roads were heavily fortified with Gaddafi’s army tanks, anti-aircraft guns and truck-mounted rocket launchers.

In Zawiyah, residents said Gaddafi’s forces had deployed in large numbers over the past days. “We estimate there are 2,000 on the southern side of town and have gathered 80 armoured vehicles from the east,” resident Ibrahim said, adding a battalion had also come from the west side.

“But our youths are not sitting idle,” he said. “We killed two of their men last night and operations like these allow us to build up our arsenal. We have already seized 10 to 15 of the army’s tanks and a large number of Kalashnikovs.”

His account could not immediately be verified.

The government says it is not using military force to retake rebel-held cities although one official did not rule it out if all other options were exhausted.

“Workers at Zawiyah’s public hospital went today (Thursday) to Tripoli to get some (medical supplies) for the civilians wounded during clashes,” Ibrahim said, “but the administration there that supplies public hospitals refused to hand them any simply because it was destined for Zawiyah.”

Another resident, Ali, told Reuters by telephone: “We are starting to have problems with supplies for some medicines as well as getting baby formula . . . Libya needs help from the international community. We only want our freedom.”

Mediation plan

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said reports indicated that two Libyan Red Crescent ambulances were shot at yesterday in Misrata, west of Benghazi, and two volunteers were wounded.

The ICRC has 12 staff in Benghazi, including a medical team visiting areas outside the city in cooperation with the Libyan Red Crescent.

Yesterday, Venezuela said Gaddafi had agreed to its proposal for an international commission to negotiate an end to the turmoil in the world’s 12th largest oil exporting nation.

But Gaddafi’s son Saif al Islam said there was no need for foreign mediation in the crisis; a leader of the uprising rejected talks with the veteran leader; and the Arab League said cautiously that the plan was “under consideration”.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France and Britain would support the idea of setting up a no-fly zone over Libya if Gaddafi’s forces continued to attack civilians.

US President Barack Obama said the United States and the international community must be ready to act rapidly to stop violence against civilians. He expressed outrage at the bloodshed, called on Gaddafi to step down, and emphasised the importance of humanitarian efforts.

But Juma Amer, secretary for African affairs at the Libyan Foreign Ministry, told journalists: “Media reports that civilian areas were bombed are false.”

Saif said Brega was bombed to scare off militia fighters and to gain control of oil installations. “The bombs (were) just to frighten them to go away,” he told Britain’s Sky News.

On the ground, rebels leading the unprecedented popular revolt pushed their front line west of Brega. They said they had driven back troops loyal to Gaddafi to Ras Lanuf, site of another major oil terminal, 600km east of Tripoli.

In The Hague, International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Gaddafi and members of his inner circle could be investigated for possible war crimes committed since the uprising broke out in mid-February.

Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told BBC radio: “No fact-finding mission has been sent to Libya. No diplomats, no ministers, no NGOs or organisations of any type were sent to Libya to check the facts . . . No one can be sent to prison based on media reports.”

An aide to Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebels’ National Libyan Council, called for foreign help to set up a no-fly zone to protect civilians and help rebels topple Gaddafi.

Save The Children and Medecins Sans Frontieres said they were struggling to get medicine and care to Libya’s needy, with gunmen blocking roads and civilians too scared to seek help.

The upheaval is causing a humanitarian crisis, especially on the Tunisian border where tens of thousands of foreign workers have fled to safety. But an organised international airlift started to relieve the human flood from Libya as word spread to refugees that planes were taking them home.

Sarkozy’s Islam debate opens rift in ruling party

President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to hold a national debate on the role of Islam in French society has opened a rare rift in his centre-right party, damaging his credibility ahead of a presidential election next year.

Fears about the role of Islam in France’s secular society have become a key campaign theme in the wake of controversies – largely fed by the far-right – over Muslims praying in the street, halal-only fast-food restaurants and full-face veils (picture).





With Sarkozy intent on keeping moderate voters from defecting to the far-right, he has encouraged the ruling UMP party to hold a public debate starting on April 5 to discuss the compatibility between Islam and France’s secular values.

But weeks before the debate has begun, and with little clue as to its format, dissent within the UMP over the wisdom of the idea has hurt Sarkozy’s credibility, hinting that his leadership of the party is less than ironclad.

“If this debate were to be focused only on Islam, if it were to lead to a stigmatisation of Muslims, then I would oppose it,” Prime Minister Francois Fillon said this week on RTL radio.

Division in the ruling UMP group, usually more disciplined than the Socialist opposition, reflects poorly on Sarkozy as he tries to shore up his popularity from record lows in the face of competition from a resurgent far-right National Front party.

“This (Islam) is a core issue ... but the way the debate is organised gives the impression of being too rushed, poorly controlled,” said Jerome Fourquet of the IFOP polling institute. “In terms of the dynamics of the election, that is not good.”

In January, an IFOP poll showed that more than two thirds of French and German people considered the integration of Muslims into their societies a failure, and pollsters have identified anxiety about Islam as a key theme in 2012.

Sarkozy is taking a risky bet by trying to steal Islam as a campaign theme from the National Front after another national debate on national identity, also the president’s idea, failed to win over many far-right voters, Fourquet said.

Meanwhile, National Front leader Marine Le Pen has been gaining points in the polls for pounding home the idea that Islam has become an encroaching presence in French society.

“People may ask, why not just go for Marine Le Pen?” Fourquet said, referring to voters in the 2012 election.

In a chaotic prelude, reactions in the UMP to the debate have ranged from sceptical to frankly critical.

The idea is “useless and dangerous”, former Sarkozy advisor Patrick Devedjian wrote in a blog post. It would be a “mistake to challenge secularism”, said Senate speaker Gerard Larcher.

“Let’s beware of playing up to fears,” Larcher said last week on iTele news channel. “Let’s beware of weakening secular values in a poorly prepared debate that would be poorly led for political opportunity, when it’s an essential topic.”

Sarkozy planted the seed for a debate when he said last month he did not want to see Muslims praying on French streets. UMP spokesman Jean-Francois Cope later said the government would open a confernence on Islam and secular values on April 5.

Asked about the debate’s format, a UMP spokesman had no immediate comment. The debate on Islam will likely resemble the national identity debate and include ‘town-hall’ style events and an internet forum for proposing solutions.

But even in Sarkozy’s inner circle, support has been muted. Alain Juppe, appointed foreign minister in a Sunday reshuffle, said the debate needed to be “kept under control”.

The only politician to welcome the idea was Le Pen, who mocked the UMP by saying that a debate on Islam would help her party to win 25 per cent of the vote during the election.

One issue the UMP intends to address is public financing for mosques after the controversy over street prayers shone a light on the lack of suitable mosque space for Muslims in France.

A 1905 law separating church and state forbids the use of taxpayer money to support any faith. But the majority Roman Catholic Church and other faiths enjoy an indirect subsidy through state maintanence of many of their buildings that are considered part of the national heritage.

Muslim leaders say they have no such advantage and are not rich enough to fund the building of new mosques by themselves.

Fillon has said a debate on public financing for mosques is “worth having”. But National Assembly President Bernard Accoyer has dismissed the idea as politically toxic: “The risk of it getting out of hand is too great,” he told La Croix daily.

When housing minister Benoist Apparu floated the idea of changing the 1905 law to allow some subsidies, a group of 28 centre-right deputies threatened to split from the ruling party.

“I will not join in a debate on Islam,” the hard-charging UMP deputy Jacques Myard, author of a book on secularism in France, told the iTele news channel. “More than ever, we need to keep secularism in public and religion in private.”

He added: “It’s the only way to protect religious peace.”

Libya’s Gaddafi OKs Chavez offer to end crisis: Report

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has agreed to a proposal floated by his ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to end the crisis in the North African country, the online edition of Yosberides newspaper reported today.

The Arab League has also accepted Chavez's proposal, added Yosberides, formerly known as Quryna. It did not cite a source.

Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi gestures to his supporters before making a speech in which he sought to defuse tensions after more than 10 days of anti-government protests, in Tripoli March 2, 2011

US moves warships closer to Libya, freezes assets

The United States began moving warships and aircraft closer to Libya yesterday and froze US$30 billion (RM90.15 billion) in Libyan assets, ramping up pressure on leader Muammar Gaddafi after calling on him to step aside.

Gaddafi is “slaughtering his own people,” unfit to lead and “disconnected from reality,” the US envoy to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said at the White House in the hardest-hitting US denunciation yet of the Libyan leader.

News of the military preparations and the tougher US rhetoric follow days of criticism of the Obama administration by Republican lawmakers, conservative commentators and others for its initially cautious response to the turmoil in Libya.

The administration has defended its response, saying it had been reluctant to take any steps that could endanger US citizens in the North African country. Washington imposed sanctions on Libya on Friday just hours after a plane carrying some of the last Americans flew out of the capital Tripoli.

In addition to repositioning military units and freezing Gaddafi’s assets, Washington was also working with allies on imposing a possible “no-fly” zone over the country.



Rice said the United States was waiting to see how the Libyan opposition, which has seized large swaths of the oil-producing country, would coalesce. It is premature to talk about military assistance to them, she said.

The repositioned US ships could be used for humanitarian and rescue missions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Geneva, where she told the UN Human Rights Council it was “time for Gaddafi to go — now.”

“There is not any pending military action involving US naval vessels,” she said after the Pentagon announced it was moving warships and air force units closer to Libya.

US oil prices, which have risen due to the turmoil in Libya and unrest elsewhere in the region, did not respond to the news, trading down 80 cents at US$97 (RM295.85) a barrel.

‘MILITARY ACTION ONE OPTION’

“We are moving ships closer to Libya in case they are needed,” said Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman. Aircraft were also being moved nearer, he said.

The Obama administration has said military action is one option it is looking at, although many analysts say the United States is highly unlikely to launch a ground invasion or air strikes because of the volatile situation on the ground.

The Pentagon gave no details of the forces being moved but its announcement was likely aimed at sending a signal to Gaddafi and his government that the United States was matching its sharper rhetoric of recent days with action.

It was not immediately clear what ships the US Navy has in the Mediterranean but it does have two aircraft carriers further southeast in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

The United States has a major base in Naples, Italy, home to its Mediterranean headquarters, as well as in Rota, Spain.

US planes bombed Libya in 1986, killing more than 40 people including Gaddafi’s adopted baby daughter, in response to a Berlin bombing blamed on Libya that killed three people in a Berlin disco used by US servicemen.

US authorities are also putting the financial squeeze on Gaddafi to pressure him to go.

President Barack Obama signed an executive order freezing Libyan assets on Friday. A US Treasury Department official said yesterday that about US$30 billion of Libyan assets in the United States have been blocked from access by Gaddafi and his family.

David Cohen, acting Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the sum was the largest ever blocked.

Rice said the United States was talking to Nato allies about military options but so far the focus had been on contingency planning.

One option on the table is the no-fly zone, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

A no-fly zone would stop Gaddafi using warplanes or helicopters to attack rebels who have seized large parts of the country, although it is far from clear how big a role the Libyan air force has played in the crisis so far.

Military aircraft circled a town in rebel-held eastern Libya yesterday, a security official said, adding that an earlier report they bombed an arms dump was incorrect.

Clinton: US reaching out to Libyans amid uprising

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday the United States was reaching out to Libyan opposition groups seeking to oust longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Clinton spoke shortly before leaving for Geneva, where she will meet with European allies and envoys from Arab and African countries in hopes of agreeing on a common response to the rebellion that threatens to end Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks about her meeting with Brazil’s Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota at the State Department in Washington, February 23, 2011.

The trip comes a day after the UN Security Council unanimously imposed a travel ban and froze the assets of Gaddafi and his family.

“We are reaching out to many different Libyans in the east as the revolution moves westward there as well,” Clinton said, referring to opposition groups. “... It is too soon to see how this is going to play out.”

A spokesman for the new National Libyan Council, which formed in the eastern city of Benghazi after it was taken by anti-Gaddafi forces, said his group did not want foreign intervention.

As Gaddafi opponents made gains near the capital city Tripoli, Clinton said the UN resolution was a message to Gaddafi and those around him that they “will be held accountable for the actions that are being taken and have been taken against Libyan people.”

Clinton said the United States was not negotiating with Gaddafi.

“We want him to leave and we want him to end his regime and call off the mercenaries and troops who remain loyal to him,” she said. “How he manages that is up to him.”

US officials say Clinton’s trip to Geneva is aimed at coordinating the international response to Libya’s crisis, with Washington insisting that the world “speak with one voice” on stemming the violence and bringing Gaddafi to justice.

The resolution adopted by the 15-nation UN council also called for the immediate referral of the deadly crackdown to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for investigation and possible prosecution of anyone responsible for killing civilians.

The Obama administration has been criticized by rights groups and others for moving too slowly on Libya, the latest country hit by spreading turmoil and anti-government protests across the Middle East and North Africa. But White House officials said fears for the safety of Americans in the country had tempered Washington’s response to the turmoil.

Washington announced a series of sanctions against Libya on Friday after a chartered ferry and a plane carrying Americans and other evacuees left Libya.

Senior US officials, speaking to reporters aboard Clinton’s plane, said she would seek to win international approval for “lockstep” enforcement of economic and diplomatic sanctions targeting Gaddafi and his inner circle.

“Nobody overestimates Gaddafi’s rationality in our government,” an official said, adding that others around Gaddafi might start to reconsider their options.

“We are seeking the levers at our disposal to influence those individuals and not just somebody of questionable rationality.”

Washington is considering steps including sanctions and a “no-fly” zone to try to stop Gaddafi’s suppression of anti-government protests, which diplomats estimate has killed about 2,000 people in two weeks of violence.

While Western governments are trying to ratchet up pressure, it remains unclear how long Gaddafi, with some thousands of loyalists, might hold out against rebel forces comprised of youthful gunmen and mutinous soldiers.

Obama welcomes Bahrain cabinet reshuffle

US President Barack Obama toasts before a dinner for the National Governor’s Association at the White House in Washington, February 27, 2011.

President Barack Obama welcomed yesterday a move by Bahrain’s government to reshuffle its cabinet and urged it to respect human rights.

“I welcome the announcement by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa about making important changes to the cabinet and restating his commitment to reform,” Obama said in a statement.

The king reshuffled the cabinet in a further attempt to appease the Shi’ite opposition that has staged days of protests against the Sunni-led government, government sources said.






The ministers of housing, health and cabinet affairs were among those sacked, said three government officials who did not wish to be named, adding they had not received official confirmation yet of who was being replaced.

Bahrain saw the worst unrest since the 1990s last week when seven people were killed in protests by its majority Shi’ites who have complained of discrimination by the government, which is a close ally of the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Thousands of protesters still occupy Pearl Square in central Manama, demanding the resignation of the cabinet and a new constitution under which the government is elected. — Reuters

Now even Gaddafi's 'voluptuous' nurse deserts him as world turns up the diplomatic pressure

* Libyan leader forfeits his right to govern because of human rights abuses, claims Hillary Clinton
* Tyrant's son seen on video urging supporters to fight 'until the last bullet'
* Rebels parade captured mercenaries at gunpoint
* British Prime Minister David Cameron threatens UK military action within in Libya if killings continue
* Defiant or 'delusional'? Gaddafi insists 'All my people love me'

A nurse who has been at Moammar Gaddafi’s side for nine years is planning to flee Libya - as the nation descends further into violence and world leader call for him to relinquish power immediately.

The tyrant is said to be deeply attached to Halyna Kolotnytska, a 38-year-old Ukrainian he describes as ‘voluptuous’.

She travels everywhere with him, as only she ‘knows his routine’. There is even some suggestion that the pair are lovers.

Preparing to flee: Halyna Kolotnytska, seen in an undated photo with Moammar Gaddaf, is a 38-year-old Ukrainian he describes as 'voluptuous'

Unusual claims: Gaddafi has said he is protected by a 200-strong team of 'virgin bodyguards', and told BBC's Jeremy Bowen and Sunday times' Christine Amanpour at the weekend that 'All my people are with me'

Loyal companion: Ms Kolotnytska has been Gaddafi's nurse for nine years. The dictator claims she is the only one who knows his routine - and there have been suggestions that they are lovers

Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya quoted her daughter Tetyana as saying her mother had said she was not in danger but planned to return home in the near future.

Tetyana said: ‘She spoke in a calm voice, asked us not to worry, said she would be home soon. ‘[Gaddafi] is employing Ukrainian women as nurses. He doesn’t trust Libyan women with that.’

He may not trust them as nurses but Gaddafi is known for his eccentric employment of Libyan female bodyguards - he claims to have a 200-strong security team of virgins.

The often young girls have a variety of uniforms and follow him on official visits - recently to France and Italy.

The news of Ms Kolotnytska's 'defection' came on the day U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton implored the world to hold Moammar Gaddafi's regime to account for gross atrocities in his crisis-torn country.

She said that the Libyan leader must leave power 'now, without further violence or delay' as she addressed a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today.

The worst atrocities included reports that soldiers had been executed for refusing to turn their guns on their fellow citizens, she said, with the clear hint that he should stand trial for war crimes.

And British Prime Minister David Cameron became the first world leader to threaten Gaddafi with military action, promising a no-fly zone and arms shipments to his enemies.

Mr Cameron even suggested he could send British troops into Libya as a peacekeeping force to stop Gaddafi’s henchmen massacring democracy campaigners.

At a National Security Council meeting, he ordered military chiefs to draw up plans for the no-fly zone.

If Gaddafi turned his air force on the rebels, RAF warplanes would be able to intervene.

Despite spiralling violence and news of rebals taking major strongholds throughout the country, Gaddafi himself insists his people are still behind him.

Speaking with the BBC's Jeremy Bowen and the Sunday Times' Christine Amanpour, Gaddafi also claimed there were 'no demonstrations at all in the streets' of Libya.

When told that Bowen had indeed witnessed demonstrations in the streets, Gaddafi said: 'They are not against us. No-one is against us. Against us for what? Because I'm not a president. They love me. All my people are with me, they love me all. They will die to protect me, my people.'

After viewing the interview, U.S. ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said Gaddafi was clearly 'delusional' and 'unfit to lead'.

Mrs Clinton made her plea for the international community to speak with a single voice at the session of the UN Human Rights Council after the EU heeded her call to impose sanctions in a bid to oust the increasingly maniacal leader.

She said: 'We have seen Colonel Gaddafi's security forces open fire on peaceful protesters. They have used heavy weapons on unarmed civilians. Mercenaries and thugs have been turned loose to attack demonstrators.'

She added: 'The result of these human rights abuses is that they have lost the legitimacy to govern.'

Her assessment to the 47-nation body came amid a series of meetings Mrs Clinton held with foreign policy chiefs from Russia, top European powers and Australia.

As the leaders shuffled in and out of conferences in a form of speed diplomacy, they urged concerted efforts to press Gaddafi to halt the violence that has wracked his country and resign after 42 years in control of Libya.

The European Union issued travel bans and an asset freeze against senior Libyan officials, and an arms embargo on the country.

Germany went further, proposing a 60-day economic embargo to prevent Gaddafi's regime from using oil and other revenues to repress his people.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle's call essentially amounted to an economic embargo and was perhaps the toughest proposal yet aimed at Gadhafi.

He spoke as doubts emerged about the feasibility of another plan being mulled by international leaders, a no-fly zone that would prevent him from launching aerial attacks.

He said: 'We must do everything so this murder ends. We must do everything to ensure that no money is going into the hands of the Libyan dictator's family, that they don't have any opportunity to hire new foreign soldiers to repress their people with.'

Mr Westerwelle said he was only speaking for Germany, but insisted that his call had found some support from other countries. Italy's foreign minister said his country was looking to find a new source for the oil supplies that had been coming from Libya.

Mrs Clinton said the U.S. was considering further sanctions.

She said: 'Nothing is off the table so long as the Libyan government continues to threaten and kill Libyan citizens.'

But the proposal for a possible no-fly zone over the country appeared to divide nations.

Russia's foreign minister said he had no talks with Mrs Clinton about the proposal. Sergey Lavrov said: 'Absolutely not. It was not mentioned by anyone.'

And in Paris, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said a no-fly zone needed U.N. support 'which is far from being obtained today'. He also questioned whether NATO should get involved in a civil war in a North African country.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy, whose bases would be the most logical place from which to monitor the no-fly zone, said the issue was under discussion but said the logistics would be difficult.

After meeting Mrs Clinton, he said: 'We should discuss all the consequences.'

 Gaddafi's bedroom: A Libyan rebel stands in the damaged and vandalised bedroom that was used by Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi and his family at the terminal of the airport in Benghazi

 Battle: An armed protester proclaims victory yesterday as he stands on top of a captured tank in Zawiya, 30 miles west of Tripoli

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the 16th session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva

Thailand to further probe killing of Reuters journalist

Thai investigators said today they were still trying to establish who killed Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto last year after reversing preliminary findings that a soldier probably fired the fatal bullet.

Muramoto (picture), a 43-year-old Japanese national, was killed by a high-velocity bullet wound to the chest while covering clashes between anti-government “red shirt” protesters and troops in Bangkok’s old quarter on April 10 last year.





Witness accounts in a preliminary state investigation said he was shot from the direction of troops, but authorities now say the type of bullet was inconsistent with those used by soldiers.

Thai investigators have concluded the fatal bullet was of 7.62 mm calibre and that soldiers were armed with M-16 rifles that fire 5.56 mm bullets, the director-general of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Tharit Pengdit, told a news conference.

“The bullet that shot Muramoto was 7.62 mm not M-16 that was used by the authorities,” Tharit said. “It could be an AK-47 or something similar ... but exactly who shot him I can’t answer at this point. We need more investigation.”

Television footage showed troops opening fire in the direction of hundreds of protesters, while soldiers came under attack from grenades. Mysterious black-clad gunmen were filmed moving among the demonstrators.

“Of course, the bullet came from the direction of the troops, but we don’t know who fired it because the troops were also surrounded by red-shirt protesters,” said Tharit of the bullet that killed Muramoto.

A preliminary version of the DSI report seen by Reuters in December quoted a witness as saying he saw “a flash from a gun barrel of a soldier”, then watched Muramoto fall after he was shot in the chest while filming the troops.

The DSI also acknowledged on November 16 a soldier may have fired the fatal shot, but said it was too early to conclude the case. The DSI’s report was sent to police for further investigation.

“The apparent contradiction between the preliminary investigation and these reports makes full transparency about the process and the findings imperative,” said Stephen J. Adler, Editor-in-Chief of Reuters News.

Tharit defended the DSI’s investigation. “The reason we submitted a finding earlier to police that Muramoto was likely shot by a soldier was because that was what the witness said. The witness also didn’t see where the bullet was exactly shot from.”

The latest DSI statement will likely rekindle debate over how exactly Muramoto was killed and the identity of mysterious black-clad gunmen filmed moving among the demonstrators or firing from above in sniper positions on the night the journalist died.

It also raises questions over the weapons used by the soldiers. Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said troops deployed in Bangkok on April 10 were armed with US-made M-16 and Israeli-made Tavor rifles, but red shirt witnesses reported the presence of other types of weapons.

A law firm representing the red shirts and their figurehead, fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, issued a report on January 31 quoting from an unspecified number of unidentified officers in Thailand’s military who said the black-clad gunmen were members of the military.

The government says the shadowy gunmen were terrorists who were allied with the red shirts and responsible for most of the deaths during the clashes.

The Bangkok Post yesterday said “the army chief of staff paid the DSI head a visit to complain about an initial department finding” that blamed soldiers for the journalist’s death.

At least 91 people were killed in violence last April and May in Bangkok after the red shirt protesters occupied parts of the capital, and more than 1,800 were wounded. The military fought street battles with gunmen among the red shirts during the crisis, turning parts of central Bangkok into combat zones.

The military has repeatedly insisted that soldiers were not responsible for any of the deaths and injuries during the violence, a claim most independent observers consider implausible.